Optical fibers can be used to transmit large volumes of data and voice signals over relatively long distances, with little or no signal degradation. For this reason, optical fibers have become widely used in the telecommunication field. As the use of optical fibers has increased, new systems have been developed for managing and organizing larger numbers of optical fibers.
For example, typical optical fiber management systems include cable management structures for storing the fibers or connecting the fibers to one or more other fibers and/or fiber optic devices, such as attenuators, connectors, switches, multiplexers, splitters/combiners, or splices. Such fiber management systems are often mounted to a wall or to an equipment rack. One or more rack units are generally mounted to the wall or rack, and include one or more drawers or trays having the cable management structure for organizing the fibers. However, in such conventional systems, it is often difficult to access the optical connectors, splices, etc., to connect or disconnect the optical fibers. Accordingly, there is a need for a fiber management apparatus that provides easy, unimpeded access to the optical fibers in the apparatus.
In addition, with the increasing use of optical fibers, there is an ongoing need for compact apparatuses that provide for management of a large number of optical fibers in a relatively small space.